“Oh yeah, I’m definitely going to put the pressure on him to come back and see if he wants to play with me for the long haul and see if we can do this together for a couple of years,” Cruz told the New York Daily News. “We’ll see how it goes. Hakeem’s his own man. He’s going to make his own decisions. But I’m definitely going to see if I can get him to stay with me for a couple of years.”

Nicks is expected to command a larger total contract than Cruz. He is scheduled to become an unrestricted free agent in 2014. It might be difficult to fit two highly-paid receivers under the NFL salary cap.

“I’m concerned as a teammate and as a friend because I want to see Hakeem around in Giants blue as long as we’re together in the National Football League,” Cruz said. “But there’s ways to do things. There’s ways that you can create space.”

One thing working in the Giants’ favor is Nicks’ injury-plagued 2012 season. Nicks was limited to 13 games last season, catching 53 balls and scoring three touchdowns.